โ | While the initial wall of forest provides a sense of security, you must soon venture out of your hideout to battle for resources. | โ |
—Age of Empires IV description |
Glade is a 'cage-match' style random map in Age of Empires IV: The Sultans Ascend with forest encroaching from the edge of the map. Players start in a small forest alcove and must face off in the center clearing.
Features[]
The edges and corners of this map are covered in forest, creating a play area that somewhat resembles a flower, with a circular area in the center surrounded by alcoves as the 'petals' of the flower protruding from the center. Players always begin in one of these alcoves, separated from the center area by a narrow and easily wallable opening in the forest. In team games, between each player will always be a single 'neutral' alcove, which can contain nothing, resources, or one or more of the Relics, which spawn in standard number and can also spawn in the center. In 1 vs 1, there can be more than one alcove between the two players and they can be quite misshapen, acting more as an extension of the center area than a separate area. Two Sacred Sites will always spawn in the center area of the map and this is one of the few maps without any Trade Posts.
Resources[]
In each alcove, players start with only one Small Stone Outcropping, one Small Gold Mine, 1 large Deer Pack, and one medium Berry Bush patch. The rest of the large Deer packs (a greater total number than on most maps), Berry Bush patches (all of medium size), and Stone Outcroppings and Gold Mines (all small-sized) are located within the center of the map or in neutral alcoves. This is where players can also find the Boars, which spawn in the usual amount. The surrounding forest yields essentially unlimited safe wood.